MSI Nightblade MI Review
Category : PCs
Published by Luca Rocchi on 14.09.15
Nightblade MI is the name of the lastest ITX gaming solution from MSI. Due to its compact dimensions and punchy components, the Nightblade MI is a perfect mini system for everybody who needs a lot of power or wants to attend LAN events.
Today we will be reviewing a compact mini-ITX PC system made by MSI, the MSI Nightblade MI. Like the previous model, the major strength of this mini gaming PC are the dimensions that are quite low. Despite its compact size, the MSI Nightblade MI houses high-end components. On the following pages we will check both the performance of all internal components as well as temperatures and power consumption of the entire system.
Preview
Test Setup
| MSI Nightblade | MSI Nightblade MI | |
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| CPU |
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| Memory |
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| Graphics Cards |
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| System Drive |
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| PSU |
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| Games and OS |
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| Drivers |
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| Connectors |
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| Dimensions | 345.8 x 277.3 x 175.7 mm | 340.6 x 234.8 x 127.6 mm |
| Weight | 8 Kg | 8 Kg |
| Games | ||
The MSI Nightblade MI is a mini PC system based on an ITX form-factor motherboard. The rig is easy to carry around and fore example perfectly suitable for LAN parties. At the moment, the MSI Nightblade MI is available in two versions, where one is based on an i7-4790S and the other comes with an i5-4460S. Both systems are also available as a barebone, with only the power supply and motherboard in place, while other components can be chosen by the customer.
The case measures 340.6 x 234.8 x 127.6 mm with a total weight of 8 Kg, and it's made of thick, high quality steel. As you can guess from the size, the MSI Nightblade MI is a very compact without any special openings or windows. The right side panel features a big mesh, so the graphics card can suck in fresh air. Regarding connecotrs, you can find two USB 3.0 ports at the front panel paired with two standard audio jacks. Inside the case there are no additional fans to push fresh air inside the case, in fact we only find the fan on the CPU cooler; here MSI has chosen to use a low profile solution. The cooling system inside the Nightblade MI reminds us of the kind of heatsinks used inside notebooks.
Our reviewing version of the MSI Nightblade MI has been equipped with an MSI B85 motherboard, which comes with all of the most common connectors, including both WiFi and Bluetooth. Sitting on the small MSI motherboard, there is an Intel's Core i5-4460S 2.90 GHz CPU and 2x4GB DDR3 1600MHz memory. Despite the ITX form-factor, MSI equipped this version with a powerful MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition graphics card and the power comes from an FSP 350W 80Plus Bronze power supply. As for storage, we find one Transcend TS128GSSD370 128GB SSD and a standard WD Blue 1TB HDD. MSI even equipped this small system with a slot-in ODD.
3DMark Extreme
| Score | Graphic Score | |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 4'913 | 5'396 |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 3'117 | 3'466 |
Fire Strike Physix
| Points | % | |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 7'147 | 126.09 % |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 5'668 | 100.00 % |
UCBench
| Points | % | |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 918 | 119.80 % |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 767 | 100.00 % |
XTU (Intel Extreme Tuning Utility)
| Points | % | |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 741 | 112.64% |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 658 | 100.00 % |
Cinebench R15
| Points | % | |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 539 | 125.05 % |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 431 | 100.00 % |
HWBot Prime
| Points | % | |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 4'906 | 102.76 % |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 4'774 | 100.00 % |
Blackhole Benchmark Multithreaded
Single Thread
| Points | % | |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 2'724 | 101.94 % |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 2'672 | 100.00 % |
4 Threads
| Points | % | |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 3'528 | 114.24 % |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 3'088 | 100.00 % |
Multithreaded
| Points | % | |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 3'844 | 114.26 % |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 3'364 | 100.00 % |
Overall
| Points | % | |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 10'096 | 101.73 % |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 9'124 | 100.00 % |
WinRAR
| Points | % | |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 4'669 | 104.80 % |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 4'455 | 100.00 % |
Frybench
| Points | % | |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 1'060 | 115.21 % |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 920 | 100.00 % |
Games
| Borderlands - The Pre-Sequel |
Average FPS | % |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 178.4 | 132.83 % |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 134.8 | 100.00 % |
| Metro Last Light |
Average FPS | % |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 45.2 | 149.17 % |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 30.3 | 100.00 % |
| Thief |
Average FPS | % |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 69.3 | 148.39 % |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 46.7 | 100.00 % |
| Tomb Raider |
Average FPS | % |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 44.2 | 146.84 % |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 30.1 | 100.00 % |
| Watch Dogs |
Average FPS | % |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 49.5 | 143.06 % |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 34.6 | 100.00 % |
All games have been tested using the same settings as in our GPU chart.
SSD
Crystal Disk Mark
Our version of the MSI Nightblade MI has been equipped with one Transcend 128GB SSD based on SATA factor and placed in the top part of the chassis.
As you can see from the Crystal Disk Mark screenshot, this SSD offers the kind of performance you expect from a 128 GB drive. We have not tested the 1TB HDD however, if the storage drive is not big enough, there is an additional slot for the installation of another 3.5" HDD (up to 6TB).
Power Consumption
| Power Consumption Load (Idle)* | Watts |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 24 |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 42 |
| *Entire system | Less is better |
| Power Consumption Load (FurMark)* | Watts |
| MSI Nightblade MI (4460S + MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition) | 166 |
| MSI Nightblade (4670K + MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G) | 244 |
| *Entire system | Less is better |
Noise Level
The MSI Nightblade MI has multiple noise sources, which include the fan on the CPU heatsink and the graphics card. During our 2D and 3D tests, the system was always rather quiet. Due to a problem on the graphic cards inside the Nightblade MI, we can't describe the noise of the GTX 960 Tiger Edition since the fans are running always to 1900 rpm. The cooler used on the GTX 960 Tiger Edition is similar to the old TF IV and we believe that the noise produced by the card could be on a good level.
Temperatures
| Temperature | Idle | Full |
| Intel Core i5-4460S | 33 / 36 / 34 / 34 | 54 / 55 / 57 / 53 |
| MSI GTX 960 Tiger Edition | 30 | 51 |
| Less is better | ||
With an ambient temperature of 22 degrees, we have obtained these temperatures using two stress tests like Prime95 64bit and FurMark. In both scenarios we haven't manually set the rotation speed of the fans. In our opinion the temperatures recorded are adequate to the type and size of the system. Like for the noise, also the GPU temperatures are not correct since the fans were set to 1900 rpm.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a powerful small desktop system, which can be easily used during various events and LAN parties, the MSI Nightblade MI is definitely a very good choice. Despite the ITX form factor of the system, MSI managed to squeeze some powerful components inside. In our tests, the small MSI Nightblade MI proved to be fast and efficient. We tested the computer under various circumstances and scenarios and compared them to the results gathered with the old Nightblade, which was based on a faster CPU and GPU. The 3D results, where the graphics card is most important, as well as in 2D environments, where the CPU acts as the bottleneck, and storage influenced tests, show that MSI Nightblade MI PC system is a solid product. Naturally, there is a huge difference of scores in some benchmarks, since our comparison system uses an Intel Core-i5K CPU and a GTX 960, compared to an i7-4670K and a GTX 960.
The temperatures measured in games and benchmarks are inferior compared to a normal case, however, they still remain at decent levels. The heatsink with radial fan placed on the CPU is able to provide adequate cooling to the i5-4460S under any circumstance. Apart from that the system is subjectively silent.
Storage wise, the MSI Nightblade MI, or at least the version that we received, offers a 128GB Transcend SSD and a Western Digital 1TB 3.5" HDD. If the space is not enough, you can install an additional HDD inside the HDD case placed in the front of the case. The performance of the SATA SSD is on the level we expected and therefore good.
Now, we come to the price: The MSI Nighblade MI is available at AK Informatica for €999 (without SSD). We have tried to configure a PC system using the same components combined with MSI Nightblade MI case at Geizhals.eu and the price difference between the two configurations is very little, and in our opinion, it's easily justified.
Recommendation
The MSI Nightblade MI is an excellent compact gaming PC with a design you have to like. If this is the case, then we can highly recommend this little gaming machine and it's definitely worth the 999 Euro AK Informatica is asking for.
The MSI Nightblade MI receives very good 4.5 out of 5 stars.
